In general, the present invention relates to the preparation of mixtures including liquid reagents, cleaning and other special-purpose solutions, solvents, pesticides, herbicides, paints, mixed beverages, fluent foodstuff, as well as other fluent substances used in the laboratory, manufacturing plant floor, field crops, gardens, eating establishments, building structures, art lab, and so on. Common to the preparation of such a wide range of types of mixtures are the tasks of selecting, dosing, and mixing the necessary constituent fluent components into a receptacle. More particularly, the invention relates to the automation of such mixture preparation using a novel apparatus, whether the constituent components are uniformly distributed within the mixture. This apparatus and associated method utilizes a unique automated technique to, in accordance with input concerning a desired end-product, select at least one of a plurality of available fluent constituent components staged on a support structure, dose/measure a requisite amount of each selected constituent component, collect the dosed amount with mixing receptacle, and agitate/stir the collected contents in the receptacle to prepare the preselected end-product. A processor and storage device are readily adapted to collect and store data concerning the preparation, as desired. The footprint of the apparatus can be chosen for portability. And although a variety of vessels containing constituent components can be made of rigid or brittle materials, a support structure of the apparatus is adaptable for the arrangement of gravity fed, xe2x80x98bag-likexe2x80x99 flexible walled vessels.
There are many reagents/buffers, special-purpose solutions, solvents, paints, pesticides, herbicides, the list goes on, for commercial and personal use, used in research laboratories in small quantities. Very often, lab and QA (quality assurance) technicians, line employees, etc., need only a single batch that includes one or more xe2x80x98flasks-fullxe2x80x99, for example, of a mixture tailored for a particular study/analysis/test or other use. Every time a new reagent, solvent, solution, or other mixture is needed, the laborious process of preparing begins, over again: The appropriate formula is pulled from laboratory files (or, if none, one must be calculated), bottles of the necessary ingredients are located and removed from storage, and ingredients are measured using equipment which has to, first, be cleaned and decontaminated from any prior use. Further, the process of mixing beverages such as is done at a wedding party, alumni gathering, or other function likewise requires small xe2x80x98flasksxe2x80x99 of different beverages requiring preparation in various batch-quantities. This is also true of the production process to prepare foodstuff in small amounts.
Traditionally, mixtures that are used in smaller quantities in production lines, commercial laboratories as well as private and government research laboratories, are prepared manually on an as-needed basis. First, a trained lab technician carefully measures out the requisite amount of each raw material-ingredient from the glass container(s) in which it was shipped to the lab and is currently being stored. Many reagents, solutions, and solvents are prepared using ingredients that are quite caustic and toxic. The quantities of ingredients measured for use, are mixed in an appropriately-sized beaker or flask. The highly labor intensive process of preparing solutions used in commercial manufacturing and research laboratories not only creates opportunity for human error and serious injury, but is also very costly.
Therefore, a versatile automatic, less labor-intensive and less error-prone process is needed. Preferably such a process is carried out using a computerized apparatus designed to be generally portable, with a footprint that can accommodate the limited available counter top space found in most laboratories, manufacturing environments, and eating establishments. The innovative apparatus and method described herein utilize a unique sophisticated technique to automatically; (a) access, dispense, and dose appropriate quantities of selected ingredients held in containment vessels in proximity to one another, this being done according to input entered through some type of user interface as well as a plurality of instructions/commands stored for automatic retrieval into computer memory, and (b) collect each such ingredient into a receptacle (such as a flask, beaker, etc.) for mixing and auttitraton (as desired). Although this new apparatus incorporates sophisticated automation techniques, its features allow for ready access to finished mixture-product. The unique automatic access to fluent ingredients, as well as dispensing and dosing techniques, can be employed by an apparatus with a footprint considered large (floor-model) or small (counter-top) to prepare a wide variety of mixtures.
Unlike the labor-intensive processes currently available, the new apparatus and associated method require much less intervention by a lab technician, line worker, etc. and provides sufficient production quality control over batch sizes of hundreds of flasks of prepared mixtures. As can be appreciated, within the spirit and scope of the design goals contemplated hereby, and as further described herein, many different types of suitable alternative structures for carrying out specified function(s) may be incorporated into the new apparatus and method of the invention. Further, the incorporation of flexible-walled vessels (xe2x80x98bag-typexe2x80x99) having novel features invented by certain of the listed applicant-inventors hereof, and assigned to the assignee hereof, helps address problems associated with cumbersome transport and storage of heavy, breakable ceramic (e.g., glass) hard-walled containers. These unique flexible-walled vessels can be fabricated from many suitable materials into many different shapes and sizes, and filled with countless different types of fluent substance ingredients as needed for preparing desired mixtures.
It is a primary object of this invention to provide an apparatus and associated method of preparing a mixture using a computerized apparatus having a plurality of vessels, each of which is arranged on a support structure and oriented for dispensing a fluent substance through at least one exit port and a first flow channel. The first flow channel of each vessel is in further communication with a dedicated measurement assembly, for dosing fluent substance so dispensed, and a second flow channel. The apparatus also includes a receptacle support; and can further incorporate a user interface for receiving a first input concerning the mixture plus a storage device to hold instructions for locating a respective one of the second flow channels and the receptacle support in operative relation (for collecting the fluent substance in a mixture receptacle placed on the receptacle support). The apparatus can further comprise titration and mixing modules; and an alternative apparatus and method can utilize a support structure having a framework moveably coupled to a sustaining member, whereby many flexible-walled vessels can be accommodated.
Several advantages of providing the novel apparatus and associated method, follow:
(a) Versatilityxe2x80x94The invention can be used for automatic preparation of single-flask batches of different mixtures, or repeated preparation of a large quantity (multiple flasks of one mixture).
(b) Structural design flexibilityxe2x80x94An apparatus of the invention can stage a multitude of constituent fluent ingredients (including solvents, buffers/reagents, homogeneous and non-homogeneous solutions, titrants, including reactants, etc.) for access and dispensing depending on the instructions/commands and input received for the preparation of the preselected mire. The apparatus can be driven by its own power source (especially important for the field), or connected to an external source of power such as line voltage from an electrical wall outlet.
(c) Simplicity of usexe2x80x94Different batch-quantities of any one such mixture can readily be prepared with a touch of a keypad button or touch-sensitive screen, a voice command or joystick/mouse, etc. The new apparatus can be sized for portability and installed and relocated with ease and without disruption of surrounding environment. A user has at her fingertips, a panoply of programming instructions/commands for preparing hundreds of thousands of different mixtures as well as the flexibility to create new ones; and maintenancelcalibration can automated.
(d) Design flexibilityxe2x80x94The apparatus can be sized to accommodate any number of ingredient vessels arranged and one or more of the vessels can be fed externally if usage of its contents is great throughout a day, for example. Also, many suitable mechanisms exist (and are handily adapted or redesigned) to carry out the following: receive user input, measure/dose fluent substances dispensed from a vessel, agitate/mix the substances, and titrate substances collected.
(e) Process speed and reliability/repeatabilityxe2x80x94Reducing the need for trained technicians to carry out each of the meticulous steps required to prepare the mixture(s), allows the process of preparing to occur at a faster rate, while being less prone to error (repeatability increases). This makes it possible to more-economically prepare a variety of preselected mixtures (regardless of batch quantities and/or product mix/variety requirements throughout a given day).
(f) Compact/efficient designxe2x80x94To optimize production, several apparatuses (built with a smaller footprint) can be positioned at different locations within a production or lab environment and operated simultaneously, or sequentially, to create different, or the same, mixtures. The use of flexible-walled bag type vessels, makes possible, on-the-fly replacement thereof.
(g) End-product preparation trackingxe2x80x94The automated features of the apparatus and method make tracking of batches for quality assurance or other purposes such as replenishing stock of fluent substances consumed straight-forward to integrate and implement into existing production, eating establishment, and lab environments (especially where highly kegulated/monitored).
Briefly described, once again, the invention includes an apparatus for automatic preparation ot a preselected mixture, comprising: a plurality of vessels, each vessel arranged on a support structure and oriented for dispensing a fluent substance through at least one exit port and a first flow channel. Each of the first flow channels is in further communication with a dedicated measurement assembly and a second flow channel. The apparatus also has a receptacle support, a user interface for receiving a first input concerning the mixture, and a storage device holding a plurality of instructions for locating a respective one of the second flow channels and the receptacle support in operative relation for collecting the fluent substance. The mixtures which can be prepared utilizing the invention include liquid reagents, cleaning and other special-purpose solutions, solvents, pesticides, herbicides, paints, mixed beverages, fluent foodstuff, as well as other fluent substances used in the laboratory, manufacturing plant floor, field crops, gardens, eating establishments, building structures, art lab, and so on.
There are additional features that further distinguish this invention from known devices and methods: (a) the support structure comprises a framework moveably coupled to a sustaining member; (b) a dose actuator stationed in positional relationship with the receptacle support: (c) the vessels having been hermetically formed of flexible stock material into a xe2x80x98bag-typexe2x80x99 shape; (d) mixing and titration modules; and (e) further instructions on the storage device can include: instructions for dispensing from the first flow channel the requisite amount of fluent substance from a respective vessel; instructions for directing a respective one of the dedicated measurement devices to dose the fluent substance so dispensed; instructions for rotating, or otherwise moving/sliding/positioning/placing, a respective one of the vessels and/or an associated dedicated measurement assembly and/or the receptacle support, to position a respective second flow channel above the receptacle support; instructions for automatically mixing and/or titrating, including any type of analysis/reaction performed on or to, substances collected in a mixture receptacle; and instructions for repeating the process according to input about batch size/quantities.
The invention also includes a method of preparing a preselected mixture using a computerized apparatus, including the steps of (a) receiving a first input concerning the mixture; and (b) according to the first input and a plurality of instructions held on a storage device of the apparatus: automatically locating a second flow channel and a receptacle support in operative relation; dispensing a fluent substance through at least one exit port and a first flow channel from a respective one of a plurality of vessels arranged on a support structure of the apparatus, each of the first flow channels in further communication with a dedicated measurement assembly and a second flow channel; and using the measurement assembly, dosing the fluent substance so dispensed. The additional features listed above, further distinguish the method of the invention.